The faster you get through security checkpoints, the better. There’s a program for that.
The Transportation Security Administration today announced the addition of five new airlines to its TSA PreCheck trusted-traveler program. They are Air France, Brussels Airlines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Philippine Airlines, and World Atlantic.
The additions bring to 47 the number of airlines participating in the program, including all major U.S. carriers. (There’s a full list here.)
PreCheck travelers may leave on their shoes, light outerwear and belts, and keep laptops in their cases and 3-1-1 compliant liquids in carry-ons when clearing security in designated screening lanes.
To enroll in PreCheck, travelers pay an $85 application fee and must undergo an in-person interview at one of TSA’s 380 application centers, or at one of 1,400 IdentoGO mobile processing centers.
Related:
Once approved as a low-risk traveler, flyers are entitled to use TSA PreCheck lanes for five years at 200 U.S. airports when flying on participating carriers.
With full flights and travel’s generally high hassle factor, anything travelers can do to make flying less stressful is worth a look. And PreCheck delivers. For example, in November 2017, including part of the congested Thanksgiving travel period, the TSA claims that PreCheck flyers cleared security checkpoints in less than five minutes 93 percent of the time.
While PreCheck can be a time- and aggravation-saver, as intended, the service is not without its critics, who cite the cost and two-step application process as deterrents to many would-be participants. Notwithstanding such quibbles, more than 4 million flyers now participate in PreCheck.
After 20 years working in the travel industry, and almost that long writing about it, Tim Winship knows a thing or two about travel. Follow him on Twitter @twinship.
This article first appeared on SmarterTravel.com, where Tim is Editor-at-Large.
